At 27 years old, Sandy Rosenberg felt like time was running out. She had been in college seven years and had changed her major twice. “A good friend of mine told me what I needed was a salable skill, something that I could learn in a relatively short time and make a decent income,” she said. “At the same time, I heard that a new dental hygiene program was opening in Gainesville, where I was living, so I applied.” Though she worked as a dental assistant for a time between majors and really enjoyed it, she had only thought of her job as a temporary one. After working in the dental field for a while, however, she realized it’s what she wanted to wanted to do and graduated from Santa Fe Community College with her Associates of Science degree in Dental Hygiene in 1979. “I just wish I had done it sooner,” she said. “It has been a very rewarding career.”
Now a days, Rosenberg works as a dental hygienist temp and teaches part-time in the dental hygiene program at Sanford-Brown College in Jacksonville. “I enjoy the opportunity that temping affords me without the commitment of a regular job,” she said. “I work it around my teaching schedule.”
Rosenberg said she had always planned to teach and decided to enroll in the online bachelor-completion program at St. Petersburg College in 2008. “I thought having a bachelor’s degree would be my ticket into the teaching profession,” she said. ” After I graduated, I applied to countless programs, but got no reply.” It appeared, she said, as if every school was looking for a candidate with a Master’s Degree. “So, I forged ahead and attended the University of Tennessee’s Master of Dental Hygiene Program in Memphis,” she said. “While still attending, I got my first job teaching in Nashville at Remington College in 2012.”
Working with students is something Rosenberg has always loved, which is why she decided to become a teacher. “I wanted to contribute to the profession by being able to shape the new generation of dental hygienists. I wanted to share my passion for the profession and instill high standards in those who would be influenced by me.” But teaching is hard work, she said. Though a class might only meet one day a week for four hours, Rosenberg spends about 24 hours a week preparing for it by making PowerPoint presentations, creating quizzes and grading papers. The amount of time a teacher puts into preparing depends on how well he or she knows the subject matter, she said, adding that she was in dental hygiene school a long time ago. “In order to teach a subject, you really have to know it, and I found that in the beginning, I was just about one week ahead of my students,” she said. “Then there is the subject of determining if you are actually being effective and if the students are really learning. Add that to all the professional, ethical, and political issues involved in teaching and you have the big picture.”
But Rosenberg said she sometimes misses working as a hygienist in a practice.“Most of all, I miss seeing the rewards of starting with a patient with periodontal needs and working with them throughout their treatment,” she said. “I like the whole experience of building rapport and trust with my patients.” Being a dental hygienist has been very fulfilling for Rosenberg. “There is a special bond between a dental hygienist and his or her patients,” she said. “It is our responsibility as healthcare providers to give the best possible care we can in all situations.” And it is that mentality that necessitates dental professionals to continue their education throughout their career. “I have learned so much by teaching and doing research that I may never have learned otherwise,” she said. “Most hygienists learn select new things through mandatory continuing education and occasionally reading their journals, but there is no substitute for doing you own research whenever you need to.”
Rosenberg recommends dental professionals not take educational courses just for program credit. “Keep learning and staying informed,” she said. “If you don’t, you will turn around one day and find that things have changed since dental hygiene school!”
- Exit Interviews: Get it in Writing - October 30, 2019
- Vaping Possible Suspect in Wisconsin teens’ hospitalization - October 23, 2019
- What to Do About Negative Reviews Online - October 16, 2019